[MA] How to reduce the time needed to re-whip?

[smin32]

Hello GURPS forum users.
This time, I'm creating a cinematic martial arts master character who wields a whip by referring to the GURPS martial arts supplement.
This character appears in the background world of the Wuxia genre and is a hostile NPC that attacks PCs with the most powerful skills.
What I'm curious about in this thread is this.

"Do I need to spend a few seconds to retrieve the stretched whip before I swing it at the opponent again? If the Ready action is absolutely necessary, is there any way to shorten the time it takes?"

Based on the whip-related rules in the GURPS base set(p.406), the answer to this question is "yes".
However, I have some doubts about this rule itself.
Of course, I'm not saying the rules are wrong.
It's just that there isn't a way to omit the course of action that is associated with the rule.

As a basis for my claim, I will attach a video from YouTube.
This video is an introduction to martial arts using a whip, starring an American performer and stuntman named Anthony De Longis.
As far as I know, he's the one who taught "Harrison Ford" how to whip, the actor who starred in the popular adventure genre films, the Indiana Jones series (the Discovery Channel's Myth Busters featured him as such).
https://youtu.be/XEfZXuPgwvQ

If you look at the aspect of whip martial arts Anthony demonstrates here, it takes only about a second for each attack to actually strike with a whip.
This is because, after one swing, the whip that hangs on the floor is quickly retrieved through the next swing, and the recoil immediately prepares the next attack.
In other words, even if you don't spend a lot of time retrieving the slack whip completely into your grasp, the whip can always be in a state of readiness (from what I thought from watching the video).
Does the rule for whips in the GURPS basic set stipulate that it takes 1-2 seconds to recover even after considering all of these factors?

Additionally, if the above rules are indispensable for handling whips, I would like to know if there is a way to alleviate this time consuming without using house rules.
I've been scouring several threads of the GURPS forum via Google, but from what I've learned there is no way to shorten the process of retrieving these whips to skill rolls other than performing a prepare action.
I would like to avoid using the Altered Time Rate advantage to increase the number of actions per second, or using house rules.
Are there any rules in the official documentation related to GURPS that help with this?

+
ah! After writing the thread, one more question came to my mind. (Such a mistake!)
According to the GURPS supplements I own, the material of the whip is only made of leather or cloth.
However, with modern technology it is possible to reinforce the whip with stainless steel.
Whips processed in this way are easily available in online shopping malls.
As a visual reference to this, a link to an image and video from YouTube is attached below.
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/PYUAA...ZCY/s-l400.jpg
https://youtu.be/svUYxZIDxWE?t=230
https://youtu.be/AGzO7OTeyPQ?t=300

It is thought that this reinforced whip will be heavier and more durable than a normal leather whip.
I looked up the sub-supplement of GURPS Low-Tech, but couldn't find the rules for transforming the whip.
Are there any official rules for changing the material of a whip to metal in this way?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Written using Google Translate]

[Gigermann]

I asked the same question, using the same example, for the same reason a long time ago. See here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=135213

[Refplace]

The rules for whips are pretty simplistic, but its a very niche weapon so a lot of word count on it, especially in Basic would be inappropriate.
I have used whips for years for entertainment and mock fighting, though I am no pro and know several people LOTs better than I am.
Its hard to judge the length of the whip in the video. The guy is 6' tall and I think the whip is longer than him, I guess 8 feet which is about average for a bullwhip. My main whip[ is a 3 foot snakewhip which are usually 2 to 4 feet long. Easier to practice indoors with.
So my snakewhip would take one turn to Ready, his would take two turns to Ready - assuming the rules round up.

Fast-Draw (Flexible) is in Martial Arts, p. 56.
In both Basic and Martial Arts the Whip entry does not have the dagger, though in Martial Arts the weapons under Kusari skill do. Meaning if you are strong enough (twice listed ST) you can wield them without them becoming Unready.
GURPS Technical Grappling, GURPS Yrth Fighting Styles, and GURPS Gladiators do not have any relevant rules to your question.

The reason I think the rule for Readying is based on length is the beleif that it takes longer to pull a whip back and swing it behind you the longer a whip is. I know a guy with a 21' whip and it takes 4 to 5 seconds to Ready for a new throw.
Extra Attack can be used to give you a new Ready maneuver, either as a House rule or as an official one with a modifier. Though I think it is an optional rule in some books too.
Fast-Draw is normally to get a weapon into your hand but there are a couple of cases where its mentioned as a way to Ready an Unready weapon.
As a House rule I would use Extra Attack or Fast Draw (Flexible) to shave off a turn to reready.
Also you do not always need to swing it behind you before attacking again, as the video shows. Four Corners is for rapid cracks in a square with the wielder at the center. Its a display not attack move though.

Personally I would allow a Fast Draw (flexible) roll to reready if your ST was at least double the minimum required ST in a realistic campaign. In a cinematic one I would also allow the no nuisance roll perk like with Archery.
In this case the skill allows you to more effectively use the whips inertia and strike faster instead of treating each strike as a fresh start where you have to uncoil to full length. If your good you do not even need to uncoil fully before a strike. Its just easier, so typical for a lower skill user or one not in a hurry.
Sports crackers do speed runs all the time.
This vid shows a speed run. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DefPoXNEdnM
This guy is going for a record, the technique is not effective for combat but does show some possibilities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnJl2O7hnrg&t=44s

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by Gigermann

I asked the same question, using the same example, for the same reason a long time ago. See here: http://forums.sjgames.com/showthread.php?t=135213

That's a good thread, it does not really address the speicif question very well but goes into a lot of other details the video brings up. I agree with the post in that thread that its various skills or a few substitution perks. Never thought of using the handle as a baton myself but it seems possible, though likely am improvised weapon without a lot of practice and the perk.
A Stock Whip is probably a better choice than a bullwhip here (longer handle)

Edit to add.
You can also dual wield whips pretty easily and have a wide arc of attack between them.

[Pursuivant]

Remember that GURPS Whips are assumed to be weighted &/or barbed to boost damage. Any video you see is likely to use a "signal whip" or "bullwhip", which is a much lighter, faster weapon.

Whips with stainless steel cores might borrow rules for the Urumi (Sword Whip) in GURPS Martial Arts.

I'd suggest that the ability to quickly ready a Whip should be treated as a Hard Technique, rather than a variant of Fast-Draw skill, but that reducing ready time by about more than 25% is cinematic.

[malloyd]

I do think a lot of differences are that for Whip Art, your whip doesn't usually [hit] anything, so you never need to correct its location for the fact is did hit something and is therefore not in exactly the right place to start the next move in the pattern.

A lot of arts that depend on "flow" are like that, each flashy move doesn't start from a rest position, but from the (quite exactly defined) end position of a previous one. You [couldn't] execute that next bit without having done the first move just before hand, i.e. you can't start somewhere in the middle, the entire several second display is a single long action, not a sequence of shorter ones you can dice up and rearrange.

[Pursuivant]

FWIW, the only non-villainous characters I've seen who use a weighted whip are the witches in Motherland: Fort Salem.

While there are certainly cinematic elements to the show, the whip fights are reasonably realistic, at least when they're not being used as substitute wizards' staffs. The following clip shows GURPS style weighted whips being used to good effect to strike, entangle, butt strike, feint, and act like a staff or polearm to keep foes from closing to close combat range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkmWvl7W3J8

[Refplace]

Originally Posted by malloyd

I do think a lot of differences are that for Whip Art, your whip doesn't usually [hit] anything, so you never need to correct its location for the fact is did hit something and is therefore not in exactly the right place to start the next move in the pattern.

I mostly agree with this, though whips do not stick in the target or have much follow through after impact. So pulling back is pretty easy whether you hit or not, unless you wrapped it or it was grabbed or caught on something.
It is a factor deserving attention but I dont think its a disqualfying one, nor as common as with a cutting or piercing weapon.

Originally Posted by Pursuivant

FWIW, the only non-villainous characters I've seen who use a weighted whip are the witches in Motherland: Fort Salem.

Interesting clips. Though they look more like rope darts to me.
GURPS combat whips are indeed weighted but it is described more like barbs and perhaps rings or even a weighted core. That clip shows a big weight on the end which is more like a rope dart used with Kusari skill.

[Donny Brook]

It could be a Technique:

Continuous Attack (Whip)
You can use this Technique only with an Attack maneuover. Roll against Continuous Attack instead of skill. A success means you hit and the whip remains Ready. Failure means a miss and the whip becomes unready. Target gets +1 bonus on active defenses. You have -1 to damage.

[Plane]

I always figured if there's a quickdraw skill for chopping off readies needed to grab your weapon that we could do a similar skill to chop off readies needed to reset your weapon after attacking.